


New Beginnings

by wentzchester



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 12:11:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4705601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wentzchester/pseuds/wentzchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU where the reader moves from England to Columbus, Ohio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of The Beginning

Columbus, Ohio. You took in the sight of trees rushing past your window, earphones blaring music. A new start, he’d said. You’ll make new friends, he’d said. Your dad had recently gotten a job in America, and you’d had no say in the matter of moving halfway across the world. Your mum was definitely out of the picture and you had no siblings, so it was just you against your dad. You didn’t even really have any friends to leave behind. Even though Ohio was part of a completely different culture, it reminded you a lot of where you’d been raised. Grey skies, not much else. When the car stopped, you pulled out your earphones and got out of the car. “Here we are, honey. Our new start.” Your dad hugged you tight to him. You broke apart and went to grab the suitcase of bare essentials you’d bought with you. “It’ll feel like home when the rest of our stuff gets here. And hey, if you make any friends, they can come round and help.” Your dad was a total optimistic. “Wait, when does school start?” You asked, carrying the bag up the front steps. “Monday.” Your dad replied nonchalantly. You stopped dead in your tracks. “Monday? Today is Saturday!” Your dad turned round. “Yes, that means you have a day to adjust.” He unlocked the door. “Lucky me.” You mumbled.

You and your dad unpacked some of your necessities, pyjamas mostly and ordered pizza, seeing as your house didn’t have water or electricity yet. You then slept through the whole night and most of the next day. You woke up and unpacked everything else you’d brought with you, some clothes and chargers. You heard your dad talking to a man who must have turned on the electricity and water You left your room and headed downstairs. The doorbell rang and you opened the door. “Howdy, neighbour! Your daddy home?” A cheerful middle aged woman stood smiling, holding what looked like a lasagne. You called your dad over and the woman introduced herself as Mary or Marie or something. Your dad thanked her for the lasagne and she said “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, I live across the road.” You suddenly realised how late it was and thought it was worth a try to force your body clock to conform to local time.


	2. The Beginning of School

The next morning your alarm screamed you awake. Monday morning. You rolled out of bed. Your dad opened the door. “Morning sunshine. Get dressed, we have an appointment with the principle.” You pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, your black boots and left your hair as it was. You sat through about 2 hours of a meeting with Principle Patrick, an old woman with thin lips. She gave you a timetable and told you to meet your guide outside and he would take you to your lesson before lunch. She subtly told you to leave because she needed to talk to your father alone. You stood outside, waiting for the guide, but when the bell went, you panicked and thought I don’t want to be late to my first class, I’m sure I can find it. Of course, you couldn’t. You figured that you had about 5 minutes to find the next class. You thought you would run. Everyone who knew where they were going filed into their classes. You ran round a corner and smack into something hard. You landed on your ass. “Shit.” You whispered. “Oh man, I’m so sorry. Here, take my hand.” A strong masculine hand entered your sight and you took it. The faceless boy yanked you to your feet. You looked up and your eyes were met with red hair and brown eyes. You realised you were still holding hands. You both broke apart. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The boy looked at you in wonder. “Oh, you must be the new girl. I’m meant to be your guide, I was running late, got a little held behind. I’m Josh.” He smiled at you. “(Y/N), I just didn’t want to be late for my first class.” You returned the smile. “Now, (Y/N),” Josh said, rolling your name across his tongue. You liked the way it sounded. 

He continued, “I’ve been given special permission to allow you to skip class to give you a tour. And I’m glad they picked me to help you, I had biology.” He started walking and you followed. “Left my best buddy Tyler all alone, he’ll prolly never forgive me.” You noticed how he skipped some syllables in ‘probably’. Maybe it was an American thing. “So, (Y/N), what part of Australia are you from?” He asked. You laughed a little. “I’m from England, actually.” Josh blushed a bit. “Not off to a great start, Dun.” He muttered to himself. “Great, I’ve always wanted to ask an English person questions.” He perked up a little when he noticed you smiling. “Shoot” you replied. “What question do you get asked the most?” You thought his question over a little. He stopped to lean against a locker. “Probably, ‘what part of Australia are you from?’” You both laughed and continued walking. He pointed things out to you, the art block, the main hall, everything. Then the lunch bell went.


	3. The Beginning of Making Friends

You followed Josh to the canteen and stood behind him in line. He asked you to sit with him and his friends and you told him that you could make space in your schedule. You both laughed. He led you to a table filled with people, some with coloured hair. You sat next to him and he received some strange looks from some of his friends. “Guys, don’t be so rude. This is (Y/N). Alright (Y/N), listen up. There are a lot of us to remember. This is Tyler, who I bailed on in Bio, and his girlfriend Jenna.” Josh pointed towards a tan brunette and a blonde girl. They both waved. “This is Pete and his boyfriend Mikey.” He gestured towards a pink haired kid and a lanky boy with glasses. They waved when their names came up. “Now, this is where it gets tricky. This is Mikey’s brother, Gerard, Gerard’s boyfriend Frank. Frank’s friends Ray and Bob. Pete’s friends Joe, Andy and Patrick. Patrick’s friends Brendon, Dallon and Spencer. And we’re all in bands.” When Josh introduced each of them, they either waved or said ‘hi’. “The band arrangements: Gerard, Mikey, Frank, Ray and Bob make up My Chemical Romance. Pete, Patrick, Joe and Andy are Fall Out Boy. Brendon, Spencer and Dallon are Panic! At the disco.” Josh sounded out of breath. “And Josh and I are in Twenty One Pilots.” Tyler added, and Josh nodded in agreement. “And I’m just happy to be here.” Jenna chimed in. That earned a murmur of chuckles around the table. 

You all ate, and you politely answered any questions you were asked. “So, (Y/N), what lessons do you have?” Jenna asked you when she returned from putting her food in the bin. You pulled out the time table given to you. Josh took it from and scanned over it. “Well, most of your classes are with me, which means with pretty much everyone else, too. Except history, which I think is with Andy,” Andy waved at you, “French with Patrick and Spencer and drama with Brendon and Dallon.” You looked over at the two pairs, they seemed nice enough. “Nice” you heard Brendon say. The bell went and you all swarmed towards the English block. The teacher was stood outside waiting for all of you and she greeted everyone with a smile. She stopped you and Josh at the door. “Dun, did you get enough time to show our new student around?” Tyler had stopped and turned to look at Josh. Tyler was signalling wildly, communicating that Josh was not to leave him again. Josh smirked and said “No, miss.” Tyler kept shaking his head. “Well, in that case, if you don’t mind showing her what you didn’t before, I’d be grateful.” The teacher smiled kindly and Josh nodded. Tyler imitated crying and Jenna dragged him to his seat. You and Josh headed down the corridor. “Why is Tyler so against you leaving?” You asked. “He’s worried I’ll go and leave him forever. But English is a double period, so we get out of class until the end of the day.” Josh replied. You nodded, following him through scarily similar looking corridors. “And here’s where the magic happens. The music department. If you ever need to find me, I’ll either be here or the canteen.” He sat at the drum kit and started tapping out a rhythm. It was nice, it sounded comforting. “So (Y/N), do you play anything?” You almost laughed. “I can’t even sing.” You replied. “That sounds like a lie. But, moving on.” Josh said, laying the sticks on the drums. You followed him up some stairs and out on to the roof top. It was a nice day, the sun was out. You both sat, your legs dangling over the edge of the building. “Tyler showed me this place. He’s always climbing. But I had a panic attack one day when I had to perform in music, so he bought me up here. He and Jenna come up here a lot too. But I like it, it’s calm, you know?” Josh said, his voice soft. He was looking out at the horizon and he seemed at peace.

You and Josh sat up there, for what seemed like forever, exchanging stories. Most of Josh’s were about crazy things his friends had done on stage. Like when Pete had knocked over Andy’s entire drum kit or when Gerard’s trousers had fallen down on stage. Josh had said how he struggled to play, because of nerves but he loved music. You’d said the same about writing, how you loved to write but you didn’t want people to read it. You and Josh made a deal; if you let him read one of your stories, he and Tyler would play for you. “The bell goes soon, we should get going.” You headed down the stairs and Josh said “This is going to sound hella creepy, but where do you live?” You looked at him and told him the street name. He stared at you wide eyed. “No way! It was you who moved in yesterday?! I live on that street!” You laughed. It seemed like the universe wanted you together. The bell went and students escaped from their classes. Tyler ran up to Josh and said “Bro, not cool.” Josh replied with “Bro, not sorry.” Tyler looked so done. “When did you get so salty? Take a nap, J!” Jenna exclaimed, materialising beside you. You all walked home, Tyler and Jenna turning down different streets to get home, leaving you and Josh. “Hey, did I give you my number? You know in case you need anything and can’t be bothered to walk down the street?” You handed him your phone and he typed in his phone number. He also took your number down and put it into hi phone. He told you “It’s not safe to leave your phone unlocked, especially with Frank around.” He smiled at you and said “See you tomorrow, (Y/N).” He crossed the street and walked three houses down. Your phone started ringing so you answered “Hello?” “Yeah, hi, it’s Josh. Just wondering, are you watching me?” You blushed. “Just gathering information.” You replied. “Sure, that’s what all the murderers say.” You laughed and said goodbye to each other and hung up.


	4. The Beginning of Something More

You got into your house and was greeted immediately by her dad. “Before you say anything, a family on this street is coming round. They have a son about your age. And three other kids.” You nodded and headed upstairs to your room. You texted Josh: _is it u coming for dinner?????_ Just as your text was sent, you received one from Josh saying: _am I coming 2 urs 4 dinner???_ You almost laughed out loud and texted him back with: _duuuuuuuuude what. apparently u have 3 siblings, its just me._ Josh texted back: _they’re alright, but not nearly as cool as me. dw it will be fine_ You replied: _sweet_ . All you got back was a smiley face emoji. After changing and helping your dad set the table, you then received a text: _me 2 u_. Then the doorbell rang.

The dinner was good. You had the lasagne from one of the other neighbours and there wouldn’t have been enough to go round if Josh’s siblings had come. Josh’s mum hadn’t brought them because she’d found out that Josh had shown you around school and thought you’d be more comfortable with just him. When you’d done eating, your dad told you to show Josh your room. For the first time that day, Josh followed you. You went up the stairs and opened the door to your room. “You know, (Y/N), people say that a room reflects what a person’s mind looks like. If that’s true, then your mind must be as blank as these walls.” If it wasn’t Josh, you would have been offended, but you could tell he was smiling without even looking at him. “Hilarious. But this is all I have currently. The bare essentials until the rest of it gets shipped over. Luckily the bed and desk were already here.” You replied. “So, (Y/N),” it seemed as if he wanted to say your name as much as he could, “Why Ohio, of all places?” You looked across at him. He was sat at your desk, legs sprawled out taking in what little you had. “My dad got a job over here, it pays better than anything at home. So here I am.” Josh looked at you, almost pitying you. “What?” You asked. Then you got it. “You want to know about my mum.” You sat on your bed. “Not if you don’t want to talk about it.” Josh said softly. “No, everyone always wants to know. My mum she…uh…she…” Tears started to fill your eyes so you turned your head away from Josh. “Hey, (Y/N), if you don’t want to talk about it…” He didn’t finish the sentence. You heard him get up and he sat next to you on the bed. You felt him hesitate to touch you but then he pulled you into a tight hug.

You sobbed into his shirt. “She left when I was 10. She just wasn’t there when I woke up. For the first couple of months, I thought she’d come back. I was so naïve. Then I kept thinking she was dead. Dad and I, we kept waiting for her, for 6 years. So when dad was offered a new job, he took it. No point in waiting anymore.” You’d stopped crying because of how much you hated your mum for leaving but also because you could barely remember her. You stood up, drying your eyes. “Look at me, I’m a mess. And I ruined your shirt. I just met you and I’ve already cried on you. Great way to make friends. If you want to go, I get it.” You turned to Josh, he was still sat in exactly the same place. “Why would I want to do that? Like you said, we just met each other and honestly, I’ve told you more than I may ever have told my mum. We know way too much about each other to not be friends.” You sat down again. “You don’t think I’m crazy?” He smiled at you. “No crazier than anyone else I’ve met.” You both laughed. Eventually the swelling went down in your eyes so you didn’t look high. You and Josh sat, laughing together, just like you had earlier in the day. “Oh, wait, I have to show you something.” You wondered what he had to show you in your own house. He went to the window slid it open and climbed out. He stuck his head back through and said “We basically have the same house, I know this stuff.” You followed him out the window and sat watching the sun set over the street. You laughed for what felt like hours. Then he realised his mum was waving at him across the street. “Wow, she forgot about me.” Josh mumbled as he climbed back into your room. You followed him back through, taking his hand for balance. “See you tomorrow, J.” You said as you waved him out of your door.

You went to bed smiling for the first time in ages. You awoke the next morning, showered, dressed, ate and left. Josh was leant against your fence. “Salutations.” He said cheerily. You looked at him, confused. “It means hello.” He added. “I know that.” You replied and kept walking. “So what do you have today? Classes, I mean.” He asked. You listed them off. “Luckily for you, most of them are with me. Except drama, double this morning. But that’s with Dallon and Brendon. I’ll come meet you outside.” You looked over at him. “Don’t you trust them?” You asked. “Brendon’s from Nevada, Dallon’s from Utah what do you think?” Tyler and Jenna joined you, falling into step with the two of you. “Is no one here from Ohio?” You asked no one in particular. “We’re fairly local.” Tyler replied. The three of them laughed, you didn’t get it. When you arrived at school, you sat down and waited for the bell to go. When it did, Dallon had already got there and the two of you walked to the drama department. The two of you talked until class began. The teacher began talking and you made notes, like she wanted. Half way through the first lesson, Brendon burst through the door and collapsed in the seat next to Dallon. “Mr Urie, how nice of you to join us. If you copy down these notes before I rub them off the board, I’ll forget that you were late.” Brendon began scribbling down notes and the teacher began talking again. “Dude, what took you so long?” Dallon asked. “My bus was late.” Brendon replied. “You don’t even take the bus.” Dallon whispered. “Mr Weekes, if you want to make Mr Urie stay for detention, you can join him.” The teacher said. Dallon blushed and sank down in his seat.

When the bell went signifying the end of the double period, you packed up your stuff and slung your bag over your shoulder. You followed Dallon and Brendon out of the class and jumped when Josh greeted you. You sat at break with the same people as yesterday and next to Josh in your other lessons. Last period was Algebra and you were seated in between Joe and Jenna. About 10 minutes before class ended the teacher left the class to grab your homework. When she left, Gerard turned to Andy and said “Dude, I might get a hamster.” Andy sounded so surprised. “What the fuck?!” Soon it turned into a class debate: Gerard vs. the rest of the class, minus a select few. Mikey dragged Pete into it, who dragged in Patrick. Even Frank seemed completely opposed to the idea. It escalated to the point where people were just yelling at Gerard and he sassed all of them into the ground, but they kept going. When the teacher came back, she said “All of you stay behind, except for Joe, Josh, Tyler, Jenna and (Y/N).” Joe started laughing and the teacher said “Alright, Joe. Stay behind if you think it’s so funny. And that isn’t a choice, you will stay behind.” The class sat silent, not wanting to make the situation any worse. The teacher left the sheets on each of your desks and when the bell went let only the four of you go. Josh waved at the class from the door and Gerard stuck both middle fingers up at him. “Mr Way, you can stay behind longer!” Even when you were walking down the corridor you could hear Mikey, Frank and Pete all groan, knowing they’d be made to wait. You laughed to yourself.

When you were about to leave school, you received a text from your dad saying: _Have to stay late at the office. Also our stuff won’t be here until next week, go to the mall and pick up some more clothes._ You groaned. “What is it?” Jenna asked, the boys already headed to Tyler's for band practise. “My stuff’s not going to be here until next week and I didn’t pack any more clothes.” You thought about going to the mall alone, but Jenna grabbed you by your wrist. “You’re coming with me. The mall’s around the corner.” You followed her, of course. You didn’t really have much choice, she was strong. You followed her into the ‘good’ shops, they were all different from back home, so you had no idea what to expect. You bought some t-shirts and jeans, trying to convince Jenna that was all you needed. She offered to walk home with you and you accepted. On the way home, you walked past a Taco Bell and Jenna rushed inside. You followed, wondering what she had seen. To be honest, you weren’t all that surprised to see Tyler and Josh sitting inside. You sat next to Josh who explained “We always come here after practise, its tradition.” You laughed a little and sat watching Jenna and Tyler act like they were the only two people in the whole world. Josh whispered to you “They may be my best friends, but I might be sick. Wanna walk home with me?” You stood and went to wave at the other two but Josh stopped you by saying “They wouldn’t notice you anyway.”

On that Friday, your dad told you that you could paint your room before your stuff came. You told Josh and asked if he’d help. He agreed. You were sat in English at the time, with Frank next to you. He asked “Why don’t you want my help?” You eyed him suspiciously and said “Because you’d be too busy with sticking your tongue down Gerard’s throat.” Frank laughed. “1, I thought you might have said something about my height but I would have cut you if you did,” you nodded, knowing full well what he was like at this point. He continued, “2, that’s a graphic image, but accurate.” You laughed. Later that night, Josh came with you and your dad to buy paint. Your dad left you to choose paint colours while he left to get wallpaper, or floor tiles, or something. You and Josh stood, slightly overwhelmed by the amount of paint, but you eventually picked up two cans of blue paint. Josh looked at you, eyebrows raised. “What?! Blue is my favourite colour. Don’t judge.” Josh raised his hands in mock surrender and you threatened to hit him with the tins of paint, which he took away from you on the ground of you being ‘insane’.

You spent the whole night prepping and painting your room. “Why didn’t we do this tomorrow?” Josh asked when you were done. “The paint’s not going to dry before you need to sleep.” You looked straight at him, giving your best bitchface. “And you didn’t think to mention that earlier?” He shrugged. “I’ll just sleep on the couch. You are now officially free to go.” Josh followed you downstairs, you both tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake your dad up. Josh left and then about three minutes later there was a knock at the door. Josh, again. “Dude, I got to sleep at some point.” You opened the door wider, silently inviting him in. “My mum locked the door and my window’s shut. I don’t want to wake her up, she’d be so mad.” You sighed. “There’s a total of one couch at the moment.” Josh shook his head. “I’ll sleep on the floor.” You looked at him, shocked. “Come on that’s not fair on you. I know, wait there.” You left Josh awkwardly standing in your living room, clothes slightly splattered in blue paint. You came back with sheets and pillows you’d stripped from your bed. “This is all we have. Only the bare minimum.” Josh took them from you and laid them out on the floor. You of course didn’t expect to go to sleep immediately. You and Josh, even after knowing each other for only a week, were famous for talking. Jenna had told you that Josh was kind of quiet around strangers, which you found surprising. It was around two in the morning when you and Josh had finished painting and around five when the two of you fell asleep. Your dad, being your dad, was up at six. When the two of you woke up at ten, you found a note from him saying: _Let the poor boy go home. His mother must be worried sick._ When Josh read it, he thanked you quickly and ran across the street. Apparently his mum hadn’t even noticed he was gone.


	5. The Beginning of the End

About a month before the end of school, you found yourself in Taco Bell, again with Josh, Tyler and Jenna. As much as you’d grown close to the others, the four of you often found yourselves alone together. Josh had dyed his hair blue, almost a week after he helped you paint your room. You failed to make the connection, and were apparently completely oblivious. Sitting in Taco Bell after school, you ordered the usual, the employees had become familiar with the four of you as you were regulars. You had finished your meal quickly, of course you had, and Jenna and Tyler had gone to throw the trash away. You and Josh stood to leave, but your path was blocked by a greasy looking kid, probably about you age. You had never seen him before and tried to get past him, but he grabbed your arm, yanking you back. “Hey, beautiful. Where are you going?” He practically spat at you. You tried to think of something in reply, something Gerard would say, but your mind came up blank. You shook your arm free and you heard Josh say “Buddy, can you just let us leave?” You felt Josh physically tense up when the guy shoved you aside and leant into his face. “What? Is this ugly bitch your fuck buddy?” What happened next was definitely unexpected. Josh punched the guy straight in the face, so hard you heard something crack, and you were unsure who it came from. Then it escalated. Each got a few good shots in but employees dragged the two apart. Josh’s nose was bleeding more than anything you’d ever seen and his eye looked like it was swelling. You pulled Josh from the employee, dragging him outside and picking up some napkins on the way out. You saw Tyler and Jenna rush forward to try and convince the manager not to ban the four of you.

The warm evening air hit you in the face, but you were too busy to notice. “What the hell was that?!” You yelled, handing him the napkins, which he held to his nose. “What, am I not allowed to look out for you?” He yelled back. “I had the situation handled!” You shouted. “Didn’t look like it.” Josh mumbled as he tilted his head backwards. “Don’t tilt back, it makes it worse. One of the only things I remember my mum saying to me.” You almost whispered the last bit, but Josh had definitely heard. You grabbed the sides of his face and tilted it towards you. Josh was taller than you, so now you looked straight into his eyes. You let go and laughed. He was still looking at you. “What would you have done if you’d lost the only thing you’d ever loved?” You asked. Josh looked at you, still completely serious. “It’s not the only thing I love.” Before you could ask what he meant, Jenna and Tyler rushed out to tell you that you weren’t going to be banned and they asked what he was thinking. You noticed the greasy dude eyeing you up from inside and told them that they should get moving. You all walked home, Jenna and Tyler peeling off down their respective streets. Josh groaned about how his mum was actually going to kill him. You noticed his window had been left open and told him to come with you. He followed, and you went straight to the freezer. You grabbed a bag of frozen peas and handed them to him. His raised his eyebrow questioningly at you. You nodded and said “Take these, climb through your window, tell your mum she didn’t see you come in. See you tomorrow, J.” You’d walked to the door with him. “You are an absolute life saver. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” You nodded him, waving goodbye and watching him as he climbed through his window. He’d learnt from Tyler, apparently. And it had been said that the group had no idea what they’d done before you were around. They always knew how to make you blush.

 

About three weeks later, your drama teacher asked if you’d present the live bands for the upcoming disco. She said you had ‘wonderful diction’ and that your accent was ‘refreshing’. You already knew who was performing, they’d told you as soon as they knew. Your teacher said that you would have to check that the songs to be performed were appropriate, which meant you’d have to hijack some band practises. It was something you’d done before. When you got to lunch, you shared your news with the guys and they all seemed happy. They told you which band practises you could crash and you were good with all of them. You’d been given a scrappy bit of paper by the music teacher (who hated you by the way because she caught you on the roof once) with the order of what was going to happen on the night. It went something like this: _Introduction, Mr Urie’s band, recorded music, Mr Way’s band, recorded music, Mr Joseph’s band, Mr Wentz’s band, Close._ You were to introduce the evening and each of the live bands. The song Brendon wanted to perform fit perfectly as an opener, so you left without a problem. Gerard’s song fit nicely, if you ignored the swearing in each chorus. You asked if they could perform without swearing, considering you’d been entrusted to keep the evening ‘appropriate’. Frank agreed before Gerard threatened to tell the music teacher where she could stick her ‘appropriate night’. Or that’s what you assumed he’d say, anyway. You saw Patrick next, who just told you what they’d play, because the other three were in detention. It was a new song which worked great for the end of the night. You saw Tyler and Josh last and you met them in Tyler’s basement. You’d been down there before, of course, but Tyler said he had a new song especially for the night. They played it for you and it was just what you needed. “It’s for Jenna. I want to surprise her. Are you okay with me saying stuff before we play?” Tyler asked. You nodded and added “I haven’t really been told much.” They smiled and you left.


	6. Panic! At The School Disco

On the night of the disco, you were backstage, about to pass out from nerves. You’d helped set up and had done tests on the mic. It was about a minute before you were meant to go onstage. You told Dallon that if you died right then and there, he’d have to take your place. He laughed and then was called over by Brendon. Josh came up to you and asked if you were okay. You just looked at him. He handed you the mic and said “Breathe in, then out. You’ll be great, just have fun.” He smiled at you and you smiled back. You took a deep breath and walked out on stage. The lights nearly blinded you. “Hi, some of you might know me. I’m (Y/N).” You looked to your left and saw Josh give you a thumbs up. You smiled and instantly relaxed. “We’re all here to have a good time, so without further delay, Panic! at the Disco!” You grinned and the four walked onstage. You high-fived each of them, including their new guitarist, Kenneth. Brendon had asked if you could play guitar to fill the gap. You told him he couldn’t, but they eventually found someone. You stood just out of view as Brendon stood in front of the mic. “Hey, what’s up Columbus?!!” Brendon yelled into the mic. The crowd yelled back. “We are Panic! at the Disco, but don’t worry, our music is fucking awesome!” The first act and your reputation was already down the drain. “Wow, you’re so done for that.” You heard Josh say from behind you. “That had nothing to do with me. But, I value my life so until I can escape I’m going to hide.” Josh laughed at your comment. ‘Let’s Kill Tonight’ was blasting over the speakers and the crowd was going crazy. To be fair, so was Brendon. He seemed to be trying his hardest to work Dallon up. There had always been tension between them, apparently. You found Ray trying to tune his guitar. “You did great” He said, looking up at you. “If I could find Gerard, I’d ask him not to shit on my reputation any more than it is already fucked up the ass.” You said. “I think he’s with Frank.” Ray said and you laughed. Those two couldn’t leave each other alone. Before you knew it, Brendon was saying “Have a nice night, there’s some great bands coming up. It’s been an honour. Here’s some not live music, I guess.” The crowd cheered as the band walked off stage and a techno beat kicked in. Brendon and Dallon disappeared and Spencer apologised. “It’s not your fault. If I get killed by the music teacher, I’ll haunt him.” About five songs later, you were back on stage, introducing My Chemical Romance. As you walked past Gerard, you shot him a look that said: _If you mess up, I’ll kill you too_. They soon started up, the first chords of ‘Teenagers’ played loudly. Josh grabbed you by the arm when you got backstage.

He dragged you to somewhere where it was considerably quieter. “You’re doing great. Me, not so much. I can’t do this, (Y/N).” He looked down at you, eyes pleading. “Josh, if you’re asking me to play drums, you know how uncoordinated I am.” You replied. That seemed to cheer him up a bit. “You’ve played that song so many times. Just pretend it’s only me out there. You’re fine with playing in front of me. Actually, I’ll do you one better. I’ll run out there and stand where you can see me.” Josh looked at you quizzically. “You’d do that?” He asked. “Anything for a friend. Plus, I’m life saver remember?” He nodded slowly. “You got this.” You said. “Let’s go.” You dragged him by his arm back to the main bit where everyone else was. You took a wrong turn, you weren’t good with directions, and you ended up opening a door to a broom closet. It was full of brooms, obviously, but it was also occupied by Dallon and Brendon. “Finally.” You and Josh whispered simultaneously, as you closed the door. Gerard and the others had just come off stage and some chart topper was blasting through the hall. When you made it back to everyone else, you said “You guys know Brendon and Dallon are in the broom closet….you know.” Everyone cheered. When Dallon and Brendon returned from their ‘closet adventures’ they were both bright red. Pete said “I guess these guys are finally out of the closet.” Most of you groaned, but you laughed. You appreciated each other’s puns, especially when no one else found them funny. “Dude, I’m pretty sure everyone knew I was bi from the start.” Brendon laughed as he slumped onto the worn out couch that was there for performers to wait on. “Could you just appreciate how long I have had to sit on that pun until someone made out with someone else in a closet? But get in here, you nerds.” The whole group bundled on Brendon and Dallon who were sat next to each other. Apparently it was lucky for the group to Christen couples by doing this. Josh had told you that the last time they didn’t do this, with Brendon and his ex-boyfriend Ryan, everything had gone super badly. Like, really bad, apparently. Josh had to help Tyler move the piano on stage, so you talked with Jenna. “Why did he bring the ukulele?” You asked. “He brought it in case Josh couldn’t play. Like, if he passed out or whatever.” You knew that had never happened before, but you knew he felt better if there was a back-up option in case something serious did happen. “I’m going to stand out there while they play. You should join me.” You told Jenna. She agreed, but you asked Tyler if it was okay that she was out there and he said it was good.

You introduced the boys and almost ran off stage. You grabbed Jenna and pulled her with you. Tyler waited until he could see you both, then he said “This is a song I wrote for my girlfriend, Jenna.” She blushed next to you and you gave them both a thumbs up. They started playing and Jenna looked incredibly happy. “Did you know about this?” She yelled over the music. “Of course I did!” You yelled back. You knew the song was ending so you both headed back. You grabbed your mic and waited for them to finish. Everyone clapped and the boys walked off stage. You smiled at Josh but his eyes were focussed on his feet. You introduced Fall Out Boy, but only vaguely, relying on Pete to do the rest. ‘Thnks fr th mmrs’ started playing and you knew that you were done for the night. You handed the mic to one of the sound techs, Sadie, and went to find Josh. You couldn’t see him with the others. You guessed almost immediately where he was.

You opened the door to the music block roof and saw him sitting there, in the same spot he had been when he’d showed you this place. You’d never been up here at night, but the stars were out and you could never see them in this town, unless you were this high up. You sat next to him. “Are you mad at me?” You asked. He shook his head slightly. “Then what’s up?” He turned his head towards you. “Do you attract creepy guys, or what?” You had no idea what he was talking about, you told him this. “We were playing and some dude started whispering in your ear. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself, because I couldn’t protect you. I swear I’m gonna—“ You interrupted him before he got irrationally homicidal. “That guy? He’s in my drama class. He has a huge crush on Patrick, I told him to talk to Patrick tomorrow.” Josh seemed almost surprised. “What, that was Tom?” He asked. “Yeah. But back to the important issue. Do you think that you always need to protect me?” Josh shrugged. “I guess. Am I not allowed to look after my friend?” You noticed how he almost spat out the word ‘friend’. Then things started to click in your head. You thought back to a few weeks before. ‘Oh my God’ you thought. You’d forgotten that he hadn’t answered your question. God, you had been completely stupid. Josh was still staring at you. “Are you just getting it?” He asked. “I’m in love with you. And you’ll probably say something completely logical about love being stupid, or a waste, or something in French. But I don’t care. I’m in love with you. 100%. Definitely.” You’d turned your head towards him at some point during this. You leaned forward and kissed him, trying to make up for lost time. The two of you fit together like two idiotic puzzle pieces. You were so distracted that it took you a while to notice that there was a ukulele playing ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. Tyler. You’d been so absorbed in each that it had taken you until the first chorus to realise. You both turned around to see everyone standing there watching you. “Okay, dude, we get it. You can stop playing now.” Josh said. You both stood up and headed over to the group, knowing what was coming. You were almost suffocated by the different people around you. But it was okay, you knew Josh was right there.


	7. The Beginning of Something Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue of sorts.

You couldn’t believe you were here. Held in his arms, spinning gently while Tyler played ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. The song ended and Tyler spoke into the microphone. “Can’t believe my best friends are finally married. You guys took your time. I love you guys.” Married. You’d married your high school sweetheart. The group’s tradition had worked, every couple from your group in high school were still together. You were almost all married, and some even had children. New beginnings were definitely worth the risk. 100%.


End file.
